Chapter Two: Goldberg's Deli

Author's Note: I was not raised Jewish so if any of the terms are wrong, please let me know and I will make the appropriate changes.

Russ Tyler salivated at the sandwich placed in front of him. Goldberg's deli's triple meat sandwich with extra-large fries and a kosher pickle. Pastrami, corned beef and smoked turkey. A towering master piece of meat and rye bread.

"Thank you, Mrs. Goldberg."

Russ quickly finished his sandwich, cleared the table and put the dishes in the dishwasher.

"Your welcome Russ," Mrs. Goldberg smiled. She then turned to her son. "Was that so hard?"

"Mom…" Goldberg moaned.

"Don't Mom me. I have to tell you three times to clear the table and our guest here doesn't have to be told once."

Goldberg glared at Russ. "Is Russ still a guest of ours? He's been here for 3 years and I think he is starting to wear out his welcome."

"Nonsense. We love being your billet family," Mrs. Goldberg told Russ. "In fact, it was Greg's idea to begin with."

"That's right," Goldberg smiled. "You owe me goy."

"Stop it Greg. " Mrs. Goldberg gave her a son a look that she was serious.

Mrs. Goldberg did not like when her son referred to his friends as goyim. She understood that his friends knew he was joking when he would call them goyim. Or goy. Or gentile. But the general public did not.

She had fought anti-Semitism when she first set up the restaurant over ten years ago. It was one of the reasons she had Goldberg enroll in pee-wee hockey in the first place. So that he would make friends with non-Jewish people his own age. Goldberg ended up being less observant then she would have liked but she had not seen any anti-Semitism from any of his friends. In fact, most of the Jew jokes came from Goldberg himself.

"Sorry Mom."

The door chimed signing customers entering the front door.

"Over here Debbie," Mrs. Goldberg waved.

Both Goldberg and Russ spun around in their seat to see who it was. It was Dave Karp's parents. They both sat down opposite of them. Goldberg and Russ were confused. Karp was supposed to meet them at the deli at three. Not Karp's parents.

Mrs. Goldberg cleared her throat. "Are you forgetting something Greg?"

Goldberg sighed. "Can I get you anything?"

Mrs. Karp smiled warmly at Goldberg. "Nothing right now dear." She turned to her husband. "Richard? Do you want anything?"

Mr. Karp thought for a moment. "Just a glass of water for me."

Greg went to the kitchen to retrieve Mr. Karp a glass of water when Dave Karp came running into the restaurant and nearly ran right into Goldberg. Dave Karp was gasping for air.

"Take it easy Karp," Goldberg said. "Or you will have a heart attack."

Karp took the water out of Goldberg's hand and downed it. Once Karp had caught his breath, Goldberg pulled Karp into the kitchen. "What are you parents doing here?"

"My parents?" Karp asked astonished.

Greg jerked his head in the general direction of where his parents were sitting.

"Mom. Dad. What are you doing here?" Karp asked.

"Take a seat son," Mr. Karp said motioning to a chair beside Russ.

Karp nodded and sat beside Russ. Goldberg stood there dumbfounded. 'What would the Karp's be doing here?' Goldberg wondered to himself. All the parents from both the district five team as well as the Eden Hall team knew each other but the Goldberg's always kept to themselves.

Greg's parents, to his knowledge, were probably closest to Russ's parents due to the fact that during the academic year, the Goldberg's were Russ's guardians. Eden Hall required that all out-of-state students have an in-state guardian. Originally, Russ was going to stay with the Halls until Jesse started getting into trouble with the law. The Goldberg's stepped in at the last minute so Russ would be able to attend Eden Hall with the rest of the team.

"Oh, right," Greg mumbled. "The water."

"Never mind the water," Mr. Karp said.

"Sit down, Greg."

Goldberg raised an eye brow and sat on the other side beside Russ.

"Let's get right to the point," Mr. Karp announced. He promptly pulled a pamphlet out of his jacket and tossed on the table. Goldberg picked up the pamphlet.

"Camp Hope. At Camp Home, we are dedicated to transforming the lives of young teens to live healthier more active lives using the necessary tools of exercise and healthy eating. We provide the best low- fat, low-calories….". Goldberg paused. "Fat Camp?"

"Fat Camp?" Karp exclaimed.

"Don't call it 'Fat camp'," Mrs. Karp said. "It's a wellness camp."

Russ Tyler couldn't control himself. "Haha suckers," Russ laughed.

"You're going too," Mr. Goldberg announced.

Russ Tyler was dumbfounded. "You've gotta be kidding me."

"Who's the sucker now," Goldberg shot back. He turned his attention back to his parents. "I had plans this summer. The three of us were going hang out. Have fun. You know that stuff that …"

Goldberg's mother did not look impressed. "We're doing this for your own good."

"My own good?" Goldberg was incredulous.

Mrs. Goldberg was adamant. "You're already seventeen."

"So?"

"I was already seeing your father when I was that age," Mrs. Goldberg commented. "We were willing to leave it up to you but we have yet to see any girls around here. "

"I haven't found the right one yet."

"We contacted the shadchan last year and they have yet to find anyone."

Goldberg stood up knocking his chair over behind him. "I can't believe this. You go behind my back and hire a shadchan without by knowledge."

It was Mr. Goldberg's time to speak. "That'll be enough Gregory. We've made up our mind. The three of you are going and that's final."

"I can't believe you decided this without even asking us." Karp folded his arms across his chest. "I'm not going," he said definitely.

"Dave, honey," Mrs. Karp said soothingly. "I know you don't want to go now but both your friends will be going with you. It's not like you'll be by yourself."

"I don't care."

Mrs. Karp ignored his protests. "There will be aerobics, an obstacle courses…" She paused. "And everyone there will be in the same situation as you are. They even have a self –defense course that will teach you to stand up for yourself. "

Karp looked up. He wasn't looking forward to having to exercise every day. Nor was he looking forward to the food either. But the idea of being about to stand up to Jason and possibly losing weight was appealing. Maybe if he lost all his weight and started to lift weights like Portman, girls like Cathy would give him the time of day. Karp was sick of being the fat kid.

"I'm in."

Goldberg and Russ looked at him in disbelief.

"Have you lost your mind?"

"Maybe," Karp admitted. He looked at the pamphlet and the address. It was right next to the Eden Hall cheerleading camp. 'Maybe I'll see Cathy this summer after all' Karp thought to himself.

"It's right next the cheerleading camp," Karp announced.

Russ grabbed the pamphlet. He looked it over. "Your right," he acknowledged. "Okay, I'm in."

Everyone turned their attention to Goldberg. He shrugged. "I guess I'm in."

"Marvelous. You'll have the time of your lives," Mr. Karp promised. "I'll set it all up. Camp starts next week."

Goldberg, Russ and Karp all looked at each other. It was definitely going to be a summer to remember.

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